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Purpose: This case study aims to describe the multidisciplinary preparation of a multiple medal-winning Paralympic cyclist active in the C5 class. Specifically, it describes the 12-month preparation period toward the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Method: The participant (height 173 cm; weight approximately 63 kg) is active in the C5 para-cycling class (right arm impairment) and was preparing for the individual pursuit, road time trial, and mass-start race in the Tokyo Paralympic Games. The participant was supported by a multidisciplinary practitioner team focusing on multiple facets of athletic preparation. Morning resting heart rate (HR) and HR variability, as well as daily training data, were collected during the 12 months prior to Tokyo. Weekly and monthly trends in training, performance, and morning measures were analyzed. Training intensity zones were divided into zone 1 (lactate threshold, critical power). Results: The participant won a silver (individual pursuit) and a bronze (time trial) medal at the Paralympic Games. Annual sums of volume and total work (in kilojoules) were, respectively, 1039 hours and 620,715 kJ. Analyzing all road sessions, 85% was spent in zone 1, 9% in zone 2, and 6% in zone 3. Physiological (eg, high training loads, hypoxic stimuli) and psychological stressors (ie, significant life events) were clearly reflected in morning HR and HR-variability responses. Conclusions: This case study demonstrates how a multidisciplinary team of specialist practitioners successfully prepared an elite Paralympic cyclist utilizing a holistic approach to training and health using data to manage allostatic load.

This systematic review sought to synthesise what is currently known about the psychology of elite cycling. Nine electronic databases were searched in March 2017 for studies reporting an empirical test of any psychological construct in an elite cycling sample. Fourteen studies (total n = 427) met inclusion criteria. Eight studies were coded as having high risk of bias. Themes extracted included mood, anxiety, self-confidence, pain, and cognitive function. Few studies had similar objectives meaning that in many instances findings could not be synthesised in a meaningful way. Nevertheless, there was some cross-study evidence that elite cyclists have more positive mood states (relative to normative scores), pre-race anxiety impairs performance (among male cyclists), and associative strategies are perceived as helpful for pain management. Among single studies coded as having low risk of bias, evidence suggests that implicit beliefs affect decision making performance, elite cyclists are less susceptible to mental fatigue (than non-elite cyclists), and better leadership skills relates to greater social labouring. Limitations include non-standardisation of measures, lack of follow-up data, small sample sizes, and overall poor research quality. The findings of this systematic review might be used to inform research and theory development on the psychology of elite endurance cycling.

Emotions are predicted to influence judgement and decision-making across a range of performance contexts. This experiment tested whether motivational-general arousal imagery can improve the decision-making performance of elite endurance cyclists. In total, 54 cyclists (38 men, 16 women) were assigned to either a positive imagery condition (where positive images associated with the affective experience of winning were encouraged) or a negative imagery condition (where negative images associated with poor performance were encouraged). The cyclists were read one of two scripts designed to elicit positive or negative images during a 20-min maximal sustainable interval on a cycle ergometer. A decision-making task (colour–word match Stroop) was performed before and immediately after the maximal sustainable power interval. Results showed that the manipulation was successful with cyclists in the positive imagery condition reporting more positive affective states (higher levels of happiness and lower levels of dejection) than those in the negative imagery condition. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in their decision-making performance under physiological duress. These findings indicate that while motivational-general arousal imagery might be a useful method to induce positive emotions during exercise, it is unlikely to improve the decision-making performance of cyclists in performance-relevant conditions.